A signed Thomas Jefferson speech, letters from Tolkien and Einstein, and the secret letters of a dying gangster are among the top lots in a valuable US auction of autographs and documents.
Meyer Lanksy was born in what is now Belarus in 1902 and died in Miami Beach, Florida in 1983.
Between those dates he lived an extraordinary life, mostly as a gangster, that shines a light on the American century that are discussed in a huge archive of personal papers.
Lanksy appeals to Joseph Burg, an Israeli minister, for permission to visit the country. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Lanksy, who was Jewish, fought against American Nazi sympathisers and helped the Allied war effort during World War II. He had pioneered American organised crime’s move into gambling (particularly in Las Vegas). He fled to Israel in 1970 but was deported back to the US to face tax evasion charges, of which he was cleared.
This “extensive archive” of letters is from the last 10 years of his life and were written to Zali de Toledo, with whom he had a romantic relationship after they met in Tel Aviv.
Heritage says: “He shares his uncensored opinions on current events, including military conflicts, US diplomacy, the threat of Israeli isolation, and the hypocrisy of the very people that labeled him a criminal.”
The 600 letters carry a reserve of $125,000 with buyer’s premium.
President Jefferson was a Founding Father and the third president of the United States. He is one of the most valuable figures in the early history of the US for collectors.
By reserve, the top item in Heritage Auction’s March 28 historical document sale is an address given by President Jefferson in 1806.
Jefferson spoke to the people of the Cherokee Nation, urging them, as Heritage says, “to adopt European-American agricultural practices and settle into a sedentary lifestyle, which he argued would lead to prosperity and stability.”
This copy was made using Jefferson’s polygraph, a duplicating machine for which he was an enormous enthusiast. In more recent years, the devices, sometimes called autopens, have proved problematic for autograph hunters.
The notes carry a $150,000 reserve, $187,500 with fees.
Other US presidential documents on sale include a signed, photographic visitor’s card used by Abraham Lincoln that has already attracted a $57,500 ($71,875) bid.
An archive of documents from Christian Rath is that of a relatively ordinary Civil War soldier. It gains notoriety through Rath’s most famous assignment, as the jailer of the Lincoln assassins, who also oversaw their execution.
The letters, diaries and cards and more from Rath are joined by a pair of handcuffs probably worn by one of the doomed conspirators.
The archive is valued at $50,000.
Other highlights include a Tolkien letter at $42,000, and a short, typed letter signed by Albert Einstein with a $30,000 reserve.
The sale will close on March 28.
